Duplex roller shade and method of manufacture



March 4, 1941. v. E. MURRAY DUPLEX ROLLER SHADE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE Filed July 10, 1939 Patented Mar. 4, 1941 PATENT OFFICE DUPLEX ROLLER SHADE AND METHOD MANUFACTURE Victor E. Murray, Cincinnati, Ohio Application July 10, 1939, Serial No; 283,597

9 Claims.-

This invention relates to improvements in a duplex roller shade for windows and other apertures which by preference or necessity may require ventilation; and the invention includes also the method of manufacturing such shades.

An object of the invention is to provide what has proven to be a highly simplified and inexpensive method of fabricating a ventilated shade or the like.

Another object is to provide a simple and inexpensive ventilated shade of improved design, which will obstruct the line of sight therethrough without materially impairing its ventilating qualities.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shade of the character stated, which may be wound upon and payed from a spring actuated roller, like any common well known single-web shade.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a duplex window shade or the like, illustrating one mode of fabrication according to the method of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a finished ventilated shade constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a fragmental enlarged cross-sectional view, showing in an exaggerated fashion, a modification wherein the shade when hanging afiords a greater degree of ventilation than does the shade of Fig. 2.

In producing a ventilated shade, it is necessary to observe certain limitations as to ultimate selling price, and manufacturing cost, which up to the present time have been decisive factors in determining the popularity and practicability of ventilated shades or similar structures. Due to the fact that shades embodying the ventilating feature are necessarily more expensive to produce than ordinary window shades of the well known type, it [is necessary to develop methods and means in the manufacture of the ventilated shade capable of keeping the cost within reason in order that the improved shade may be sold on a competitive basis. Ventilated shades which require the use of an excessive amount of shade material are objectionable from the standpoint of cost, as well as for other reasons, including excessive weight and difliculties incident to manipulation. Shades which will not wind up upon a roller likewise are objectionable for lack of flexibility in adjustment, the tendency to become frayed and worn, and for other reasons not necessary here to mention.

The shade of the present invention is of a kind which employs two webs or sheets of shade material wound upon a single roller in contact with one another. It may therefore be referred to as a duplex roller shade.

In explaining the invention and pointing out its merits, it is considered desirable to first consider the method of manufacturing the duplex roller shade of the invention, with reference to Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings. The character I0 indicates an ordinary shade roller, having at one of its ends an extending pin or stud I2 for reception by a shade roller bracket, it being understood that the opposite end of the roller has the usual pivoted pawls or latches operating to maintain a desired spring tension in a spring housed within the roller. The spring and pawl arrangement is of such a common nature that specific reference thereto is considered unnecessary.

The webs or sheets of shade material indicated at i3 and 14 each have an anchored end as indicated at l5 and I6, respectively, said ends being fixed to the cylindrical face I! of the shade roller in any suitable manner, such as by the use of an adhesive, or tacks as indicated at I8. It should be observed that the ends I5 and I6 of the webs are'shown in non-coinciding relationship on Fig. 1, this being merely for the purpose of clarity of disclosure. The edges l5 and I6 might be made to coincide, if desired.

The several characters IQ of Fig. 1 indicate narrow lines of adhesive applied to the web or sheet 14 transversely thereof. After application of the adhesive to one of the sheets such as Hi, the webs or sheets are to be wound in unison upon the roller so that the sheets will flatly contact one another at all points of their inner or adjacent surfaces. The sheets or webs thusly wound, with the adhesive between them may be laid aside until the adhesive has dried with the result that the webs are joined to one another at spaced intervals throughout their length. It should at once be evident that the sheet I4 which is wound exteriorly with respect to the sheet l3 in each convolution of the shade, will necessarily be a longer sheet than is sheet l3, although their extreme free ends 20 and 2| may exactly coincide when the webs or sheets are wound upon the roller. This being true, it is evident also that the length of shade material between successive lines of adhesive I9, will be slightly greater than the length of material in sheet l3, between the same lines of adhesive. Accordingly, it will be found, that when the finished shade is unwound from the roller as disclosed in Fig. 2, the exterior sheet 14 will bulge away from the interior sheet l3, to provide spaces 22 in the completed shade, between adjacent lines of attachment provided by the adhesive.

Referring back to Fig. 1, it should at once be evident that the duplex roller shade of the invention may be assembled with the use of stitching or other fastening means, in place of the lines of adhesive l9. It is to be expressly understood that while the bulges or spaces indicated at Z2.may be formed incident to winding of the webs upon a roller as previously explained, the same bulge or spacing may be secured while fastening the webs together as they rest upon a flat surface. by properly marking the lines of attachment upon each web, or by inserting a form or template with one of its faces properly curved, between the webs when superposed, thereby to establish that difference in length of shade material between adjacent lines of attachment which would naturally occur if the shade material or webs were wound upon a roller as previously explained. Due to the changing radius of the cylinder resulting from winding the web s upon the roller, the differential of shade material between the adjacent lines of fastening will progressively decrease as the winding of the webs approaches the free or trailing edges 20 and 2|. This changing differential must be taken into account when establishing the lines of fastening transversely of the webs, if' the duplex shade is to be fabricated in anyother manner than by winding the constituent webs as explained in connection with Fig. 1. Any inaccuracies in establishing the location of said transverse lines of fastening will result in buckling or distortion of the webs upon elevating or winding up the shade. t

The ventilating openings 23 and 24 provided in the webs I3 and M, respectively, may be formed therein either before or after, performance of the web joining operation of Fig. 1. It has been found convenient and practical to form the openings prior to the operation of joining the webs along the transverse lines l9 of Fig. 1. As is clearly indicated in Fig. 2, the ventilating openings of the joined webs preferably are staggered so that the completed shade when drawn or lowered will provide an efiective obstruction to a line of sight directed at rightangles to the mean plane of the shade. It is immaterial whether the ventilating openings be rectangular or some other configuration, or whether they extend vertically or horizontally with respect to the major axis of the shade. It is preferred, however, that any ventilating openings of whatever shape or size they may be, will be staggered relative to one another when the shade is unwound, so that proper ventilation may be had through the shade without enabling persons at one side of the shade to observe objects at the other side thereof.

The completed shade may be equipped with a shade pull 25 and a suitable pull strip 26 at the leading edge of the shade, if desired. It is of course immaterial whether the pull strip be attached to the leading edge of the shade by means of a hem provided at that location, or by the use of some other acceptable expedient. In the example illustrated by Fig. 2, the pull strip is housed within a loop or channel 21 resulting from the formation of a hem 28.

Due to the formation of the bulges 22 in the successive panels or divisions of the shade, a free circulation of air through the shade from one side to the other thereof is ensured.

As will readily be appreciated upon referring to Figs. 2 and 3, a shade constructed in the manner disclosed will wind upon.the roller without This may be accomplished either buckling or distortion of the webs that constitute the shade, due to the flexibility in the relative movements of the webs resulting from the slightly unequal radii at which the two webs are wound. In the form of the invention herein disclosed, both webs normally depend tangentially from the same side of the roller, and this is to be considered a major distinction over shade constructions heretofore proposed.

The modified construction illustrated by Fig. 3 is distinguishable from that form of the device shown in Fig. 2, in that the adhesive areas I90 are much pronounced in extent, and web I4 is creased transversely at the locations 50. After establishing the creases 50, the structure is made up in the manner explained in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 but instead of utilizing narrow lines of adhesive, wide lines or bands of adhesive I90 are resorted to in attaching the webs or sheets l3 and 14 at intervals along their'length. The adhesive used preferably will ,be one which assumes the characteristic of rigidity upon drying or setting, that the substantial convexity 40 of web l4, and the substantial concavity 4| of web i3, will be more or less definitely established even when the shade is drawn as illustrated by Fig. 3. By utilizing wide lines or bands of adhesive I90, in place of thenarrow ones indicated at IQ of Fig. 1, in performance of the process, the connected portions of the web will extend about a substantial portion of thecircumference of the roller when the webs are wound thereon as previously explained. When the shade is unrolled or drawn, therefore, the established rigidity of the connected sections between the edges 42 and 43 of the adhesive-bearing area, will influence both webs to the extent of creating bulges at the portions 44, 45, 46 and 41 for widely separating the webs for enhancing the ventilating characteristic thereof. The creases 50, of course, will never completely leave theweb material, as they are to be quite substantial. It will readily be appreciated that the various bulges at 44, 45, 46 and 41 will be more or less pronounced, dependent upon the weight or quality of the web material, and the width of the glue or adhesive area I90. In Fig. 2, the adhesive area is shown very narrow, so that the bulges are not very evident. When the adhesive area I90 is as wide as one-fourth the circumference :of the rolle the bulges will be very pronounced.

It should be understood that the construction illustrated by Fig. 3 is assembled in the manner explained in connection with Fig. 1, or in any other manner capable of accomplishing the structural features inherent in the Fig. 3 form of the invention, so that the webs will wind evenly and smoothly upon the roller. In other Words, the arcuacy of the rigid portions of the webs between the locations 42 and 43, will conform with the arcuacy of the roller 'and the shade material wound thereon, in; all degrees of extension of the shade relative to the.roller. As in the other form of the invention, the ventilating openings 23 and 24 may be of any shape or size, but are preferably staggered -either horizontally or vertically so that an obstruction to the line of sight is presented when the shade is viewed directly from the front or rear thereof.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made 'in the structural details of the device, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

common tangential line of theroller so that the --webs wind and unwind upon the roller unitarily What is claimed is: H

1. A roll-up shade which comprises a pair of perforated webs each having an end, and {a roller supporting said ends with the webs pend:

ent from the roller at a common tangential line on theroller so that the webs wind and unwind upon the roller unitarily in fiatwise contact, and means connecting said webs together transq versely and fiatwise at spaced intervals along the length thereof to form corresponding 'panels on the webs; the panels of one web being slightly larger than the panels of the other web to cause bulging of the larger web from the other web when the webs are unwound and pendent from the roller, the perforations of the webs being out of registry for the purposes described.

2. A roll-up shade which comprises an inner and an outer web of perforated material each having an end, and a roller supporting said ends with the webs pendent from the roller alonga common tangential line of the roller so that the webs wind and unwind upon the roller unitarily' in flatwise contact, and means connecting said webs together transversely and flatwise at spaced intervals along the length thereof to form corresponding panels on the webs, the panels of the outer web being slightly larger than-the panels on the inner web to cause bulg ng of the outer web panels away from the inner web panels when the webs are unwound and pendent from the roller, said size differential between the panels of the inner web and those of the outer web bearing a relationship to the-circumference of the roller and the web material wound thereon, such that the bulges are eliminated when the webs are wound upon the roller, the perforations of the webs being out of registry for the purposes described.

3. A roll-up shade which comprises an inner and an outer web of perforated material each having an end, and a roller supporting said ends with the webs pendent from the roller along a common tangential line of the roller so that thewebs wind and unwind upon the roller unitarlly in fiatwise contact, the perforations of the webs being permanently out of registry in the unwound pendent condition of the webs, and a series of adhesive areas joining the webs flatwisely together at intervals transversely thereof, said adhesive areas maintaining substantially the curvature of the roller whereby to induce a separation of the perforated portions of the webs intermediate successive adhesive areas.

4. A roll-up shade which comprises an inner and an outer web of perforated material each having an end, and a roller supporting saidends with the webs pendent from the roller along a common tangential line of the roller so that the webs wind and unwind upon the roller unltarily in fiatwise contact, the perforations of the webs being permanently of registryin the unwound pendent condition of the webs, and means in the form of a series of spaced transverse semi-rigid joints bearing substantially the curvature of the roller, associated with the webs to separate them at intervals only when in the unwound pendent condition aforesaid.

5. A roll-up shade which comprises an inner and an outer web of perforated material each having an end, and a roller supporting said ends with the webs pendent from the roller along a in fiatwise contact; the perforations of the webs being out of registry inthe unwound pendent webs, at intervals alongflthe length of said one web, then fixing corresponding ends of the websrelative toa roller. and. thereafter winding the webs in unison upon the roller to bring the adhesive portions of the one web into contact with an. adjacent face-of the other web while the webs are wound'upon theroller in face contact.

thereby toioin the-webs at intervals to furnish bulges in one of the shadewebs when the webs are unwound from the roller after setting of the adhesive portions.

'2'. The method of fabricating a duplex shade, which'method comprises the steps of applyin an adhesive to at least'one of a pair of shade webs, at intervals along the length of said one web, then fixing corresponding ends of the webs relative to a roller, and thereafter winding the webs in unison upon the roller to bring the adhesive portions of the one web into contact with an adjacent face of the other web while the webs are wound upon the roller in face contact, thereby to join; the webs at intervals to furnish bulges in one of the shade webs when the webs are unwound from the roller after setting of the adhesive portions, and thereafter perforating both webs to provide non-registering ventilating op nin s 8. The method of fabricating a duplex shade. which method comprises the steps of applying transverse spaced lines of adhesive to at least one of a pair of shade webs, then fixing corresponding ends of the webs relative to' a roller, and thereafter winding the webs in unison upon the roller to bring the adhesive lines of the one web into contact with an adjacent face of the other web during the winding of the webs upon the roller in face contact, thereby to join the webs at intervals to furnish bulges in one of the shade webs when the webs" are unwound in unison from the roller after setting of the lines of adhesive.

9. The method of fabricating a duplex shade, which method comprises the steps of perforating a pair of shade webs to provide ventilatin openings, fixing corresponding ends of the shade webs relative to a roller, applying to at least one of the webs a series of spaced lines of adhesive transversely thereof between perforations, then winding the webs in unison upon the roller to bring the adhesive lines of the one web into contact with a face of the other web during winding of the webs upon the roller in face contact, thereby to join the webs at intervals to furnish bulges in one of the shade webs when the webs are unwound from the roller after setting of the adhesive, the perforations of the webs being spaced initially to result in a final nonregistering relationship thereof when the webs are pendent from the roller.

VICTOR E. MURRAY.

ER' fIfiICATE e1 C RRECT Y I H I I v v VI T R. 'mmimy. g Y

It is hereby ce rtified. -th tfliertror appears; .in. the e pecifiction of the above numbered atentfekiuiring c'orrection a-s,fo'lIoWeE:. age-5; f1rst dolwgn, line 61, claimlp, after the wor d "permanerxjtIlQy" insert outand that the said Letters Patent should be. read with this correction, therein that the same may conforfm to the record of the casein the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of'April, A. D. 19m.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Aeting Commismioner of Patents. 

